Sinner to Sinner: A Christian on Homosexuality

This will be the last post of this series. I set my outline in the very beginning, and now I've followed through with it. It's been long, but read on to know why it's still imporant.

It's difficult to talk about the Bible these days. Statements like "Jesus loves you" or "because the Bible says so" now come with so many negative associations one can call it a good day if he can say these things without being mocked. I titled this as "sinner to sinner," because it's a good reminder that I'm not better than anyone else. I struggle to write this post for fear that my words will be taken as arrogant. Most people I know don't really know the Christian way of life. More often their idea is taken from thirdhand information. But I don't blame them; these days it's rarer and rarer to find someone who preaches the Bible, much less lives their life by it. The time is long past the passing of prop 8, and while prop 8 is still an issue (though a number of opponents joined more because it was a hot topic), this goes much further past it. I told you my personal reasons were biblical, and so I wanted to elaborate on that, as well as dissolve misconceptions about what the Bible actually says about homosexuality.

"The Bible isn’t proven."

This post is not to argue whether or not the Bible is true. If you don't want to believe in it, that's absolutely your freedom. This is for those who want to know - or feel they already know - what the Bible says about homosexuality. If you want to make claims about the Bible, you should know what it says.

“Okay, so what does the Bible say about homosexuality.”

I Corinthians 6:9 & I Timothy 1:10 both mention homosexuality literally in a list of sinful acts. Romans 1:26-27 provides the most commentary on the subject:

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

There are only a few texts that mention homosexuality, but it only needs to be said once. It may also be argued that the Bible is open to interpretation. Not all verses are of the same clarity, some are harder to understand. I invite you to suggest how this one can be interpreted another way.

"Yeah but homosexuality is a sin like other things are sins. So why do Christians think homosexual people are an abomination?"

Let me define the line here, because often even Christians get this confused. Homosexuality is a sin. Every sin is an abomination to God. So a person in sin is an abomination because of his sin. Any sin. I'm an abomination for my sin.

"What exactly is sin, anyway?"

It should be noted that sin isn’t based on cultural taboos, things that seem kind of mean, health issues, technicalities, dark-colored things, or superstition. Sin is any failure to conform to God’s law. Nothing more, but nothing less. God requires us to be righteous, but the Bible says that there is “none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). Everyone has fallen short of perfection, and the punishment for sin is death, which is eternal death in Hell (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

“Why can’t God just pretend it didn’t happen?”

God is holy and righteous, and so He can’t touch sin. What if I gave you a glass of pure water, except I told you there was a drop of pee in it? Likely you wouldn’t want it. Once the pee got into the water, the water ceased to be pure. He can’t touch sin or He is not holy. Also, God is just, and so he must punish sin or else he isn’t a just God. Would you let be okay with a judge letting someone off the hook simply because he sympathized?

"’Okay, so let he who is without sin cast the first stone.’ I mean, what place does a sinner have judging another sinner?""

An excellent and very sobering truth. Nobody is without sin, so no man has any place to judge another as less than anyone else. But what exactly does Christ deem as judging someone? He overturned the tables of moneychangers and rebuked Pharisees for their sin, though taught to love your neighbor. How does this make sense? Well, to tell someone he's sinning is alone not judgment. Christ loved everyone he encountered, down to the lowest of society. He visited the degenerate, the sick, the unclean, the prostitutes; he embraced them with compassion, yet he always told them to go and sin no more. Christ knew how to balance truth and love, not compromising either.

Then to rebuke someone in their sin without judging them as less than you is to compassionately hold them accountable to the Bible. The Bible says that if your brother sins, then you should go and show him his sin. I don’t blame anyone for being confused; the definition of sin and rebuke has blurred to the public. Many Christians – including myself – fail to properly exemplify them at times.

In terms of prop 8, it isn’t so much about pressing the Bible on others. I didn’t vote to force people to know the Bible. But like Christ, while he embraced others, he didn’t excuse sin. I have my moral convictions and that means I can’t support something that I don’t agree with.

"What about those laws in Leviticus like the one that prohibits eating shellfish? Christians can’t just go on picking and choosing."

All the laws in Leviticus are Mosaic Law, part of the old covenant of the Old Testament. When Christ died for our sins, he brought "the new covenant." And "in speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Heb 8:13)." Thus the laws in Leviticus are then null and void. You can find this in Hebrews 7-8.

“Well if sinners go to Hell, and Christians are sinners too, then how can they claim they’re going to Heaven?”

First off, not everyone who says they’re going to heaven really is. Christ says in Matthew “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

The answer lies in the latter part of Romans 6:23, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You see, that’s exactly why Christ came as man, why he died on the cross, and why that means to much to mankind. It was more than him being a good man, sinless, more than him being a perfect example of how to love and serve God the Father. He took on him the punishment for the sins - past, present, and future – of all who would believe in him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

Christ's sacrifice, above all, is the center of the gospel of the Bible. He is the essence of the Christian life. Christ offers you, no matter who you are or what you've done, eternal life in Heaven by repentance. It isn’t about joining a name, a title, or a church. It isn’t about doing good works or trying to be a good person. Ephesians 2:8 says “for by grace are you saved by faith.” It’s by repenting of your sins and having faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior that guarantees someone Heaven. Nothing more, nothing less. As for the rest of the Bible, if you really believe in Christ as your Lord and want to give your life to him, why wouldn’t you follow it?

That's it. I hope this helps you understand where I’m coming from and what the Bible says. As for your question Roger, "What if your son was gay?"

I couldn't say how I would react since I've never been a father, only God knows that for sure. But let me tell you about a man I admire. His name is Jose, and I can say he’s sincerely a man of God. You can find him constantly studying the Bible, preparing messages that are convicting, uncompromising, and undoubtedly passionate. Jose has a son. Though his son grew up in the church, his son's views have become vastly different from Jose's. He and his son have gone from discussion to argument time and time again. One day my friend asked him how his son was doing, and he said his eyes immediately became red with tears. His son don’t see eye to eye, but you couldn’t deny for a second that Jose whole-heartedly loves his son. My heart breaks for Jose because I care about him and his son a lot, but I admire and trust Jose’s resolve to be uncompromising about the Bible. If my son and I ever disagreed like that, I can only hope to follow Jose’s example.

If anything comes from this series, I pray it be that you know who Christ is and the hope that he offers you. Of all days, today and tomorrow you should know why it is these days are celebrated.We despair at our sin, but we rejoice at hope in Christ. Merry Christmas and peace be with you.